Shamrock Half Marathon

I have a problem. I love signing up for half marathons and I hate training for them. It’s not that I actually hate the training, it’s just that I’m not always motivated to go out and run by myself, especially when it’s cold outside.

Since my last half marathon in December I haven’t done too much running. I had been spending more time going to the gym and doing some at home workouts. Even though I was working out, it’s not the same as having the endurance to run 13.1 miles.

I had signed up to run the Shamrock Half Marathon in 2016, and I had to defer because I wasn’t ready. So this year when it came around I had to run it no matter what. There was no way I was going to defer the race again.

Leading up to the race, I was getting nervous. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to run the race and I debated about even doing it. I at least wanted to pick up my race packet, and then I remembered the after race SWAG and I didn’t want to miss out. How crazy is it that my motivation to run 13.1 miles was to get some free stuff, that I actually paid for?!? But I guess the SWAG also represents a sense of accomplishment.

So the morning of the race it was raining. Like pouring down rain. Luckily my brother drove me to the race (I wasn’t expecting anyone to watch me, especially in the rain) and got as close to the start line as he could, which was way better than if I had parked. I knew it was supposed to rain, but I didn’t think it was going to be as cold and as heavy as it was. Waiting for the race to start was agonizing. It was so cold and wet and I’m not a fan of standing in the rain.

When the race finally started I wasn’t sure how I would make it through the torture. I started off slow and steady and decided that if I can at least run the first half that would be an accomplishment and then I could walk/run the rest of it and be okay with it and even proud of myself based on my lack of training.

I typically enjoy running in the rain because it makes me feel like a total badass and it feels refreshing. But 13.1 miles in freezing cold rain was not my cup of tea. It was cold and rainy the WHOLE time! Since it was the beach, I even ran through a mini sandstorm! I’ve never ran in such poor conditions.

Ironically, thank God for the rain. I ended up running the whole race so fast because I wanted to get it over with. If I didn’t enjoy running in the rain, I sure enough wasn’t going to enjoy walking in the rain. Because of the miserable conditions I ended up running the whole race. I even had a better time than I thought I would!

I also kept motivating myself the whole time. I really filled myself up with the belief that I could finish the race. I’m so happy that I decided to stick to my commitment and finish the race. This race was a true testament to the ‘if you think you can, you can’ statement.

Although I don’t recommend running a half marathon without training for it, I recommend pushing yourself to do things that you don’t think you can do. Have some faith and you can do anything you set your mind to.

What’s your craziest half marathon experience? What race do you have coming up?